Magazine Names Best 20 British Writers

They range from an internationally lauded best-seller to an unpublished unknown _ and an influential literary magazine says they are the future of British fiction.

On Sunday, Granta magazine announced its once-a-decade list of the best 20 British writers under 40. They include 27-year-old Zadie Smith, whose debut novel "White Teeth" has sold 1 million copies around the world, and Monica Ali, 35, whose debut novel about immigrants in London, "Brick Lane," will be published this summer.

Most on the list are young writers with strong reviews and modest sales, such as Scotland's Alan Warner _ whose "Morvern Callar" was recently filmed _ David Mitchell ("number9dream") and Hari Kunzru ("The Impressionist.") Eight of the 20 writers are women, including Smith, Ali, Sarah Waters, Rachel Cusk and Nicola Barker.

The Granta list, chosen by a panel of writers and critics, carries weight because the magazine's first selection, in 1983, proved prescient. Among the original 20 were many future literary stars, including Martin Amis, Julian Barnes and five winners of the prestigious Booker Prize _ Salman Rushdie, Pat Barker, Kazuo Ishiguro, Graham Swift and Ian McEwan.